Dmytro Bulatov claims he was blindfolded and had nails driven through his
hands after being snatched and held for a week

A Ukrainian protest leader who was abducted over a week ago has been found caked in blood, saying that he suffered crucifixion and mutilation at the hands of his captors.

Dmytro Bulatov, 35, staggered into the village of Vyshinsky, five miles south of the capital, Kiev, on Thursday night. His captors had dumped him in a nearby forest after holding him for eight days.

Mr Bulatov, a prime mover behind the anti-government demonstrations which have paralysed central Kiev, told local television: “I was crucified. All my body is covered in blood. I didn’t even see them because they kept my eyes blindfolded. They had Russian accents. I couldn’t even see because all the time I was in darkness.”

Pictures showed that Mr Bulatov’s hands carried puncture wounds, possibly consistent with having been driven through with nails. The left side of his face appeared to have slash injuries. His chest was covered in blood.

Ukrainian opposition supporters are photographed at their camp (DAVID ROSE)

Mr Bulatov also said that his captors mutilated his ear. A piece of his right earlobe appeared to have been severed.

Mr Bulatov went missing in Kiev on the night of Jan 22.

“Dmytro and a friend were at home. Dmytro left to see someone and he didn’t come back. Then the friend tried to call him, but he didn’t answer his phone,” said Oleksiy Gritsenko, a friend and fellow opposition activist.

A series of kidnappings have taken place inUkraine, targeting leaders of the protest movement and ordinary activists alike. Mr Bulatov, who is married with three children, specialised in organising demonstrations using convoys of vehicles. These motorcades would drive through Kiev, flying opposition flags and sometimes blockading government ministries.

One of the draconian anti-protest laws, which Parliament repealed on Tuesday, had been specially drafted to ban Mr Bulatov’s protests. This measure made it illegal to drive in a convoy of more than four cars.